Soundproof building construction



Ma '10, 1938. w. D. BARGE 2,116,654

SOUNDPROOF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb 21, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR Wgglam D- fiarye May 10, 1938. w. D. BARGE 2,116,654

SOUNDPROOF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 21, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 vINVENTOR William D. fialye ATTORNEYS Patented May 10, 1938 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to soundproof building construction and hasreference more particularly to attaching means for resilientlyconnecting the Various structural parts composing walls, ceilings andfloors of buildings.

An object of the invention is to provide a. practical and convenientform of resilient connector of the character described together withsimple and practical means for attaching such connector to variousbuilding structures.

A further object is to provide a highly efiicient resilient connectorand simple and efficient means therewith for absorbing substantially allvibrations within the range of audibility that might otherwise betransmitted to and from said connector.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts as will beexemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described and the scopeof the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown some of the variouspossible embodiments of my invention:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view through a part of a side walland floor of a room showing certain features of the present invention inside elevation, a portion of another wall being broken away to show someof the parts in end elevation;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of a form of sound deadening device shown inFig. 1, but on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same, showing a way of attaching the deviceto a supporting structure;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 44 of Fig. 1, and on anenlarged scale;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section of a part of the floor construction,showing in side elevation a modified form of spring support and itsmanner of attachment to a base floor and to a sleeper of the finishingfioor structure; and

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the spring element and anchor plate shownin Fig. 5, the upper floor structure being omitted.

In carrying out the objects of the present invention a plurality ofhelical springs are interposed between and serve to connect the spacedstructural parts, whether of floors, walls or ceilings, and the springsare shaped to promote their ready attachment to the structural partswhich they connect. In some instances special devices are provided forfacilitating their said attachment. Fig. l discloses a plurality ofhelical springs I0 which serve to secure furring strips or channels I Ito a base wall l2, which may consist of wood, cement, tiles, or anyother suitable material. If concrete or tile is used in the constructionof the base wall, nailing strips l3 are preferably incorporated in thestructure in appropriate relation to the scheme of distribution of thesprings so as to provide means for securing the springs to the wall.

In wall structures particularly, in order that the helical springs maybe attached more easily to the nailing strips, the former preferablytake the form of the springs shown in Figs. 1 to 4. As shown, springs l0comprise a plurality of convolutions l4 helically arranged so that allhave substantially the same pitch diameter, and a convolution at one endof the spring, as at I5, of greater diameter than the others. This lastlarger turn extending beyond the periphery of the rest of the spring maybe readily secured, as by staples, Hi, to a supporting surface, such asthe nailing strip l3 of base wall l2. It will be understood that thewhole last turn of the coil need not extend beyond the coil peripherysince the said last turn may be bent or distorted in various other waysto provide portions extending beyond the periphery and adapted to coactwith nail or staple. The furring strips H may be punched as at H andattached to the free ends of the springs 10 by means of tie-wires IT, orthe furring strip need not be punched for the tie-wires, in which event,the tie-wires would be passed entirely around the furring strip. Thefurring strip may also be secured to the spring by means of any form ofclip suitable for the purpose.

Any suitable lathing, for example, expanded metal lathing [8, may befastened to the furring strips H, for the support of a finishing wall 18consisting of plaster, wallboard, or the like; and the Whole finishingwall structure including the furring strips or channels H may beresiliently supported by a plurality of coil springs 20, which may beconstructed like the springs 10, or may be of the nature of the springs2|, supporting the upper finishing floor 22.

A rough or foundation flooring is shown at 23; and 24 are the sleepersto which the finishing flooring is nailed. Each helical spring 2| hasthe free end of its upper turn bent outwardly as at 25, Figs. 5 and 6,to provide means extending beyond the circumference of the spring, thatmay be easily fastened to a sleeper 24, as by a staple 26. The lowerends of the springs are fastened to the under flooring 23 preferably bymeans of anchor-plates 2?. Each anchor-plate comprises a plane metalplate 23 provided with nailing holes 29, and struck up tongues 3b whichmay be bent over the lower turn of a spring 21 as shown in Fig. 5.

It is desirable not only that the finishing fioor be resilientlysupported but also that it be level. The anchor-plates 2'! provide asimple and effective means for leveling the floor 22 duringconstruction, and for attaching the lower ends of the fioor supportingsprings to the lower rough flooring. A practical method of build.- ing afloor structure is as follows: The proper number of sleepers 24, havingbeen furnished, are laid upside down and the desired number of springs,properly spaced, are fastened to them by securing the projectingportions 25 of the springs to the sleepers with staples. All of thesleepers are then turned over so that they are supported by the springs.After the sleepers have been properly spaced they are leveled up byforcing beneath them wedges or shims 3! of sufficient thickness to bringthe upper surfaces of the sleepers to the desired level. The plates 28may then be nailed in place to the rough floor, as at 32, after whichthe space beneath and around the plates may be filled in with grout, asat 33,

Floor and wall structures like those above described will besufficiently soundproof under most conditions where soundproofing isdesirable, since the helical spring connectors properly distributedbetween spaced portions of the wall will absorb most vibrations withinthe range of audibility and prevent them from being trans.- mitted fromone portion of the structure to another.

So far as floors are concerned, if the resiliency and number of springsused is properly related to the mass of the finishing fioor, since thesprings are loaded by the weight of the finishing flooring, it isnormally not necessary to provide any other vibration-absorbing medium,although an insulative fill may be provided between the rough andfinishing floorings. With resiliently supported wall structures,however, the conditions are different, for since the weight of thefinishing wall is not carried by the springs ID, the latterareordinarily not placed under any substantial load, and it is thereforepossible for these springs, or some of them, to respond to vibrations attheir own natural period and hence become more or less microphonic. Sucha condition exists with most forms of clips or retaining means used forattaching a finishing wall or panel to a base wall structure. Coilsprings, as retaining means, are superior in many ways to most forms offurring clips, and particularly in respect to their ability to absorbheavy vibration, but when using them for this purpose it is often founddesirable to provide against microphonic disturbances. It is within theconception of the present invention to provide against such microphonismby insulating each spring by means of damping means in the form of acore 35 of wool or hair felt or other similar vibration-absorptivematerial. The cores 35 are formed to fit snugly within the helicalsprings and they should be of such length as to be somewhat compressedbetween the portions of the wall structure to which the ends of thesprings are made fast.

Not only will each core prevent singing of its respective spring but thecores taken as a whole in combination with their containing springsprovide an extremely efficient means for absorbing substantially allforms of vibration which might be transmitted from a base wall to afinishing wall or panel, and the absorption is equally complete, whetherthe vibrations are due to relative movements of parts of the wallstructure or have their origin extraneously of the wall structure. Itshould also be noted that combining vibration-absorptive cores with thesprings appears to add to the efiiciency of the springs, to prevent theformation of wall cracks as the various portions of the wall expand andcontract.

It will be seen from the above description that the present inventionprovides a construction using helical springs as sound insulatorswhereby such vibrations as have a tendency to pass through the springsfrom one part of a wall structure to another part thereof, are absorbed,thus preventing sympathetic vibration at its natural period of the wholefloating wall structure. and whereby microphonism of the individualsprings is prevented; and it will be observed that efiicient means areprovided for supporting helical spring connectors in proper relation tothe structures with which they are employed.

It will be understoodthat should it be deemed desirable to furnish walland floor supporting springs 2i and 20 with vibration-absorbing cores,such. modification is within the intended scope of the presentinvention; and it is also within the scope of the invention to employthe different forms of springs hereinbefore described, interchangeably,to support walls, floors, ceilings or other resiliently connectedstructural members; and the connection of springs to structural membersmay be accomplished by nailing the springs directly to said members, asat IE or 26 in the drawings; or anchor-plates similar to plates 2'! maybe used for this purpose.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A sound-deadening support for resiliently connecting opposedstructural members in which a coil spring is attached at its ends to therespective structural members and surrounds a core ofvibration-deadening material held in a compressed condition within thespring by contact at its ends with said structural members.

2. A sound-deadening support for resiliently spacing opposed structuralmembers in which a coil spring having its ends in contact with therespective structural members is disposed between said members andsurrounds a core of vibration-deadening material held in a compressedcondition by contact at its ends with said structural members.

3. In building construction, in combination, a pair of opposedstructural members, a plurality of coil springs interposed between saidmembers in end contact therewith, and vibration-deadening material heldwithin said springs in a compressed condition by contact with therespective structural members.

WILLIAM D. BARGE.

